FOREIGN COMPANIES TO GAIN DOMINANCE IN VISA SECTOR
Turks have become so accustomed to living under anomalies for the past decade that anything normal is welcome with great joy. Take the visa issue.
Analysis
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ÖZEL ALLEGES BRIBERY SCHEME IN ISTANBUL MUNICIPALITY LAWSUITS
CHP Chair Özgür Özel said he has evidence that some prosecutors and lawyers pressured defendants in the Istanbul Municipality cases to falsely confess to paying bribes in exchange for release. The following day, lawyer Mehmet Yıldırım was detained on the orders of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
ARMED FORCES COMMANDER REPLACED IN SURPRISE MOVE
Chief of General Staff General Metin Gürak has been retired, and Land Forces Commander General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu appointed as his replacement. The surprise decision was taken at the regular meeting of the Supreme Military Council chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
HOW WILL THE PKK’S DISARMAMENT SHAPE POLITICS?
The dissolution and disarmament of the PKK, so far managed through security institutions, will be brought to Parliament’s agenda next week through a newly established commission. Although framed as “above politics” and “beyond party interests,” the “process” is creating new political maneuvering room for all parties. From the government to the opposition, political actors are repositioning themselves and recalculating strategies with an eye on the 2028 elections.
ICRYPEX FOUNDER ARRESTED
Gökalp İçer, chair of cryptocurrency exchange platform ICRYPEX, was arrested on charges of drug trafficking and attempted murder.
FIREFIGHTER’S HEART STOPS IN BURSA WILDFIRE
You wouldn’t know Ramazan Şaşkın. Likely, no one does beyond his family, friends, and the people in his town. In his 38 years, Ramazan Şaşkın only became news in death. The story goes like this: “While battling a fire in Bursa, a firefighter suffered a heart attack and died.”
APPOINTMENT OF FEMALE GENERALS IN GENDARMERIE
Turkey promoted Colonel Gülden Mat Şakir to become the second female brigadier general in Turkish Armed Forces history.
QUESTIONS MOUNT OVER SOLDIER DEATHS
Twelve Turkish soldiers died from gas exposure in a PKK-used cave in northern Iraq on July 6, and two more from excessive fluid loss in Hatay on July 25, but key questions about both incidents remain unanswered.
DEBATE ON FORMING KURDISH ISSUE COMMISSION ENDS AS NEW CLASHES BEGIN
As of July 31, all parties represented in Turkish Parliament—except the İYİ Party—have appointed members to join the parliamentary commission on the Kurdish issue, ending debates over which parties would take seats. Attention now turns to the commission’s roadmap, including its official name, agenda, timeline, and decision-making rules. The İYİ Party’s decision to abstain from participation has complicated the calculation of an absolute majority. While Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş initially announced that the commission would have 51 members, the İYİ Party’s absence reduces the number to 48, raising debate over whether the three-fifths majority should be calculated based on 51 or 48 members.
UNIONS UNDER FIRE FOR GIFTING JOURNALISTS SHOPPING VOUCHERS
Two Turkish unions sparked a backlash after distributing shopping vouchers worth thousands of liras to journalists at press events funded by workers’ subscriptions.
BAHÇELİ AMONG FIRST TO JOIN SOCIAL PLATFORM LAUNCHED BY ERDOĞAN’S SON-IN-LAW
MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli joined the newly launched social media platform Next Sosyal, developed by Baykar Chair Selçuk Bayraktar, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law.
ERDOĞAN POSTPONES MINERS' STRIKE FOR 60 DAYS
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has signed a 60-day delay in the strike decision made by the Turkish Mine Workers' Union.